Sunday, October 30, 2011

Roaring News

Dear Baldwin Community,
 
Our fifth graders had a roaring time at camp this year! They refined their team work and leadership skills while they were out there completing their daily tasks and covering the curriculum. The students returned with so much more energy and have been able to apply their learning from camp to their daily classroom learning. I am very proud of our fifth graders and their commitment to learning. I want to thank our fifth grade parents for allowing your children to go on this overnight camping trip with our teachers. It is such a great way for our children to get to know each other better and to continue building on their leadership skills.
 
Speaking of leadership skills, we are getting ready to start up our "first" Baldwin Student Council. We will have elections in each of the third, fourth, and fifth grade classrooms on November 8th. Along with the Student Council we will be incorporating the leadership program through the Rotary Club. We have some Rotary Club representatives that will meet with our student council and the sponsors to help the children develop their leadership skills. The student council members will also be the representatives for the Prek, Kinder, 1st and 2nd grade classes. I am looking forward to working with our Student Council to hear what the students feel we should focus on at Baldwin to make it an outstanding school!
 
The Coats for Kids Campaign started off with a bang and we have collected a box full of coats and scarves. We had a group of choir members that put on a short skit to kick off the campaign and then we had the Daisy Troop that presented the scarves they made to the coats for kids drive. Thank you to everyone that has contributed thus far. The collection ends on November 3rd so do some spring cleaning now and go through your closets so that you can donate any coats that no longer fit you. There will be someone that will use your donated coat this fall and winter. Your donations are greatly appreciated.
 
The PTA Reflections program will come to an end on Friday, November 4th so don't forget to submit your work by that date. This program is a perfect way for our children to demonstrate their creativity and skills around the theme of Diversity. We have a few entries and we sure would like to see more. We know our Baldwin Bobcats are very talented and what a better way to showcase this talent. The guidelines and information for each type of entry can be found in the foyer of the school in front of the office. Please talk with your children about this wonderful program and encourage them to participate.
 
We had another successful Baldwin Carnival this year! It was two weeks ago and the children are still talking about all of the fun they had and the good food they got to eat. I had about a dozen and 1/2 cascarones cracked on my head. I had a blast trying to escape those that were after me for that purpose. I want to tell all of the carnival volunteers that our event was a great success because of them. It was their hard work and commitment that made this event so memorable!! Thank you again to Mrs. Kelsey Friedman, Carnival Coordinator, and all of those that worked behind the scenes to get all of the booths ready and to those that worked tirelessly on that day and night. You all are amazing supporters of our children and Baldwin. I am looking forward to next year's carnival.
 
As we enter the month of November, we will also begin our collection for holiday support for our families in need. This year, we will have a Turkey with feathers that will display the needs of our Baldwin community. Please keep an eye out for the turkey and the procedures we will follow to help those in need. In advance, I thank you for being such a supportive community!
 
The Accelerated Reader cut-off date for this month is this Friday, November 4th. Please check with your child to see how many points they have earned and perhaps they can do some extra reading to complete a few more tests before Friday. We will recognize our next Rainbow Readers on November 10th. We will hold this recognition on that Thursday because the children don't have classes on November 11th.
 
Tomorrow, Monday, is Halloween and it is not appropriate for our children to come to school in their Halloween Costumes. However, it is "Crazy Hat" day so help your child get their hats ready to wear on Monday. We will also be celebrating the 50th day of school by dressing up in our 50s outfits on Tuesday, November 1st. We sure do like to have fun at Baldwin!
 
For more information on upcoming events, check the Baldwin Weekly Roar!!
 
I want to congratulate the third graders because they have been working very hard to learn all about multiplication and division. They have also been learning their multiplication facts to 12. Keep up the good work. I am also very proud of our fourth graders. This past week they shared their personal compositions during their writing celebration in the library. Their stories were well written and they showed so much pride in their work. Thank you to our children for being outstanding Bobcats!!
 
Roaring with Pride,

Dr. Peña

Sunday, October 16, 2011

ROARING NEWS

Dear Baldwin Community,
 
Congratulations to ALL! We have now completed the first 9 weeks of the 2011-2012 school year. These first nine weeks have flown by!
 
We started the year with an increase in enrollment, which allowed us to add three more teachers so that our class sizes would not be so large in first, second and third grades. Although change can be difficult to work through, our children, parents and staff at Baldwin did an extraordinary job during this time. Through all of the changes, the children were resilient and showed such pride for their fellow classmates and their new teachers. I want to thank everyone that helped us through these changes.
 
During the first nine weeks of classes, I observed high levels of learning at all grade levels and in our special areas. I noticed different kinds of writing at each grade level and am just amazed with the stories the children have created. I learned so much about our first grade students by reading their timelines that were posted by each classroom. I also enjoyed getting to know our youngest Bobcats by studying their individual posters that were displayed. The students in the upper grades have been doing some amazing work in mathematics and science. I even heard a fourth grader asking his math teacher to teach him more about algebra. I am so proud of our children for being so inquisitive and hard working.
 
The art work that Mr. Mader and his students have been displaying is outstanding. This year's Baldwin Choir has been working extremely hard with Mrs. Stevens and their beautiful voices have been ringing through the building. During PE classes, the children have been working on so many different skills that they are able to incorporate into their daily routines of play and competition. Our Bobcats also do a fabulous job sharing these skills during our Wellness Wednesday activities.
 
On Friday, we recognized our first group of AR awardees for this year. I signed over 65 certificates for this first round of recognitions and I want to sign many, many more as we progress through this school year. Please continue to encourage your child to read their AR books and to keep visiting our beautiful library to check out books to read.
 
The 2011-2012 PTA Reflections Program has started and the entry deadline is November 4th. This year's Reflection theme is "Diversity Means..." Children can express what diversity means to them in one of six categories: Visual Arts, Photography, Literature, Film Production, Musical Composition, and/or Dance Choreography. However, they are not limited to just one category-they may enter as many as they'd like. Your child should have received a packet in their Wednesday folder that included an entry form and other important information regarding this program. If your child would like to participate, please pick up the guidelines for the category they are interested in; guidelines are available in the school foyer near the front office. I look forward to seeing our Bobcats' talents.
 
This Friday, October 21st is our Second Annual Baldwin Carnival. There are many booths and fun activities that are planned for children of all ages, including us big kids!! The carnival is scheduled from 5-8:30. I will be there climbing the rock wall and cracking a few Cascarones on a few folks. I guarantee you will have a fun evening with your family and friends. Please make plans to attend!
 
I want to take this time to thank all of the Baldwin Parents for the gifts you gave to the Baldwin Staff a few weeks ago. We are very grateful for the kindness and generosity you shared with all of us.  
 
I also want to thank the many, many volunteers we had during these first nine weeks of classes. Please continue to read the PTA website and the Baldwin Weekly Roar for updated volunteer opportunities.

Roaring with Pride,
Dr. Peña